Grief and outrage have engulfed the Ukohol community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State following a brutal attack on Thursday by suspected armed herdsmen, which left three people dead, including a respected village head and retired headmaster.
The victims have been identified as Zaki Aondohemba Isho, a revered traditional leader and educator, and Mr. Uger Sember. The two men were reportedly ambushed and shot dead while working on their farmland. A third victim, yet to be named, was also killed, while one other person sustained serious injuries and two more remain missing.
Eyewitnesses say the attack occurred during routine planting activities. After the killings, the assailants set Zaki Isho’s motorcycle ablaze, further intensifying the community’s grief. A young boy who had accompanied the victims managed to escape with injuries and is currently being treated at a clinic in Daudu.
The latest violence has sent shockwaves through the region, particularly due to Ukohol’s proximity to Yelewata — a neighboring community still mourning the loss of over 200 residents in a similar attack on June 13.
Catholic priest Rev. Fr. Mfa Tivdoo, mourning the loss of Zaki Isho, recalled a recent encounter with the slain leader.
“It is this evening that I truly understood what happened. It was the death of Chief Bernard Isho Sumari,” he wrote. “One of the most dedicated farmers in Daudu. Only last Thursday, he attended a PTA meeting in Apir and visited me afterward on the farm. He promised to return soon… a visit that will never happen.”
The tragic event has once again drawn attention to the ongoing crisis of rural insecurity in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, where farming communities continue to suffer repeated attacks by armed groups suspected to be herdsmen.
Local leaders and residents are calling on state and federal authorities to act decisively to end the bloodshed. “When will this horror stop?” Fr. Tivdoo asked — a question now echoing across the grief-stricken community.
